Vincent Comet - Help please!

Dave Simms

New Forum User
Non-VOC Member
Hi everyone & thank you for taking the time to few my post.

My Dad, a Vincent owner passed away recently, it was sudden & totally unexpected, he was only 62.

Dad loved his cars and bikes, reciding in his garage at the moment is a Triumph Tiger 650, a Gilbern (bet not many of you know what that is) and his pride and joy Vincent Comet & it is on this that I would be grateful for your advice.

We are not sure what we are going to do with her yet but if we decide to keep it then we need to get it valued for insurance purposes & if we decide to sell it then again we need to value it & find the best place to market it. I am not interested in using a 3rd party to sell it.

I dont want this to sound like a sales add but the following is some info on the bike.
The comet was 1st registered in August 1952, it is original as far as I am aware, the bike was in use albeit limited, prehaps 100 miles per annum as it was a regular at the Banbury run, Cassington & Lugershaw (Weather permitting!) It is taxed & tested & considering it is nearly 60 years old is in quite excepitional condition, there is reams of paperwork including the original registration document from 1952, the engine number & frame numbers match those stated & the crankcase numbers match one another but I cant find any refernce to those on the documents. All the paperwork except the original reg document is post 1975 which is when Dad brought the bike. The bike is not a concerous show bike but a fully operating, usable old girl, that said I dont know how to start it & to be honest I am a little scared to for fear of breaking it, I am to used to my push button Jap c**p as Dad use to refer to it as! He had quite a lot of work carried out on her over the years with the paperwork backing this up, I know that he also had to replace the number plate & rear light section as it feel off while he was out on a ride, he retraced his steps but to no avail!

I have tried to do as much research as possible but there are so few of these for sale it is difficult so any info & advice you can give me on insurance, values & marketing would be very gratefully recieved.

My apologies for the length of this post but many thanks in advance.
 

Bill Thomas

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Hello Dave, Sorry to hear of your loss. If you are quick there is a photo of a Comet on www.thevincent.com Comets go from £5000 to silly money, It depends on what they are like. I still think £ 10000 is way too much !!. It's like buying a house, If somebody wants it bad enough, Who knows. All The Best, Bill.
 

Trevor Rowlands

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
Dave
So sorry to hear about your Dad, Gilbern,one of the few cars made in Wales,made in the sixtys, a nice little 4 seater sports car. a "C" Comet recently sold for over £16,000 by a dealer nr Northwich he is also asking £47,000 for a rapide, I agree with Bill they are silly prices, having said that I reckon they will still go up.I hope you decide to keep and ride it. Regards Trev.
 

Albervin

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Dave, market value is what a person is willing to pay. Insurance companies can be strange people to deal with (!), very happy to accept the premium but reluctant to pay. Vincents are an international commodity & the £ has dropped considerably against other currencies of late. £16,000 sounds a lot BUT to an Australian it is the same as what £12,000 was 2 years ago. If the numbers match the original Vincent factory despatch records then it will probably fetch £10,000+ as a private sale. It would be good if you can get a knowledgeable person to detail it for you so it starts & runs as it should to maximise the sale price. As you are a motorcyclist you may want to consider continuing your late father's love affair of quirky old British machinery. Personally I have always thought an Invader was a class car!!
 
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